The Little Things
by Plural Force
Summary: A week with a friend, a certain sign on the wall, and other events cause Arai's life to suddenly be put into perspective. Because sometimes, it's the little things that make a difference. Shounen-ai, Arai/Ikeda. Yes, really.


Original publishing date: September 24, 2007

Man, talk about the king of random obscure pairings, huh? This was originally written for an LJ challenge community. I remember almost nothing about it and am putting it up unedited, so you all get treated to my writing from almost 3 years ago. Posted here unedited from the original LJ version.

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis.

-ooo-

I can hardly contain my excitement when Mom starts telling us the news.

"...and so, I'm going to be gone for the next week," she finishes explaining. Did I heard her right? Does this mean what I think it means?

Next to me, my older sister, Kanako, is thinking the same thing. "So... this means that we're going to have the house to ourselves for an entire _week_?" It looks like she's trying to hold back a grin. I can't blame her.

"Certainly not!" Her tone is disapproving. I try to hide my disappointment; I should've known there would be a catch. "You two are going to be staying at your friends' houses! I will _not_ have two teenagers alone in my house!"

"But _Mom_," I whine. "Can't you let us have _fun_ for once?"

She raises an eyebrow at me. "You can have all sorts of 'fun' that doesn't involve you going unsupervised for a week."

So she's not that stupid. Damn.

"Anyway," Mom continues, her tone turning light and airy, "you two should go call up your friends tonight. Find out where you can stay for the week."

My sister pouts and stomps off to her room. I just sulk as I slowly climb the stairs. When I reach my own room, I snatch my cell phone off my desk and flop down onto my messy little bed in the corner unceremoniously. I keep bugging Mom to get me a new one; this old thing is getting too small.

I flip through my list of contacts, trying to decide who to call first. Hayashi has that irritating dog of his that tried to kill me the last time I went over. I don't think I could put up with that thing for a week. He's out. Momoshiro- why is he in here, anyway?- has those sisters of his that I've heard horror stories about, plus I don't know him all that well in the first place. That leaves only one more option.

I hit the send button on my phone and wait for someone on the other end to pick up.

"Hi, Ikeda?"

-o0o-

The next morning at tennis practice is a morning I doubt I'll ever forget. This is the morning of The Sign.

"Yo, Arai," Ikeda calls to me as I enter the clubroom. He's already changing as I set my bag down, pulling out my tennis clothes. He pulls his shirt on over his head and, not for the first time, I find myself looking at his bare back. A few moments later, I force my gaze away angrily. _Stop doing that,_ I order myself. _He's your friend. It's weird._

"Hey, Arai! Ikeda!" Hayashi pokes his head in the door. "Have you two seen this sign yet?"

I look over at him, slightly confused. "What sign?" I ask.

"Someone posted this huge sign outside, right by the courts," he explains. He's snickering, trying to hold back laughter. Uh-oh. I finish changing and follow him outside.

Tacked onto the wall of the school building is a sheet. It's a big sheet, too, probably from someone's bed. The words are painted on sloppily in red paint. But that's not the point. The point is what's _written_ on the sheet.

Right there, in big bold letters, it reads:

"ARAI + IKEDA = LOVE"

WHAT THE-?

I stare. Blink. I rub my eyes; maybe I'm hallucinating. Blink again. Nope. It's still there.

My right eye twitches dangerously. "Who did this...?" I manage to grind out. No one speaks- I don't think anyone even _breathes_.

I look around at the small crowd that's gathered. Just barely notice Ikeda beside me, staring at the sign nervously. Everyone else is either focused on me or the sign, clearly in amusement. Some are trying not to laugh; others are just outright chortling. I feel anger start to bubble up inside me. Who do they think they are, laughing at us, at some stupid _sign_-

I stride forward and rip the sheet down. _"Who did this?"_ I yell.

"Arai, calm down!" Ikeda rushes over to me, putting a hand on my shoulder comfortingly. "It's not worth it. It's just some stupid sign."

Okay, it works. I'm not seeing red anymore. But I still have enough left in me to throw the dumb sheet on the ground, glare dangerously at anyone still staring, and stalk off.

-o0o-

I end up having to put up with it all day.

The whispers, I mean.

Along with the not-so-subtle morons.

"Hey, Arai! Is it true you and Ikeda are like _that_?"

"I heard he and Ikeda are going out now!"

"Seriously?"

"Do you think they've... _you_ know..."

"No way! You think?"

By the end of the day, it takes all I have not to blow up and start shouting at the idiots around me. I mean, really, how many times do I have to explain, through my growling, that we're _not like that_?

After tennis practice, Ikeda approaches me in the clubroom and says, "So, I, uh, assume you're all packed and stuff?"

"Packed?" I blink at him.

"...For this week, I mean."

I blink again. Then, all of a sudden, it hits me. I'm supposed to be spending the entire week at his house. After those rumors that have already gotten me edgy.

_...Crap._

"Uh, yeah," I stutter, looking away. "Yeah, I'm packed. Just need to drop by my house to pick up my stuff."

"Okay." Silence.

-o0o-

Later that night we're both sitting in his room: me on his comfy plush bed, him on the rotating office chair by the desk in the corner. There are several things I've assessed about Ikeda's household at this point. For one, the house is a bit more traditional than what I'm used to. My house is more of the modern, Westernized architecture; his is more typical of a traditional Japanese home.

Second of all, his parents are the doting kind. Not just your typical caring parents, either. They're the kind of parents who are always lavishing everything upon their child, and even more upon their child's guest. I'm talking the kind of people that are always trying to fatten you up by constantly putting more food on your plate, just to make _sure_ you don't go hungry. [Ikeda gets all of this attention himself, by the way. He's an only child. I didn't know that before.]

"...and did you see the way he just _missed_ hitting the ball like that?" Ikeda continues.

"I know!" I laugh. "That was so _lame_!"

Something brushes up against my thigh. I look down to see a black fuzzball rubbing its face against my leg. "You have a cat?" I murmur, reaching down to pet the friendly animal.

"Yeah. His name is Blackie."

"Huh." An awkward silence falls over the room as I continue petting the cat. I'm still a bit tense and edgy from all the rumors going around the school that day, though I'm not letting it show. Ikeda's obviously still on edge, too. Neither of us are quite sure what to say to each other about the matter.

"...So," Ikeda says finally. "I guess we should be getting to bed, then."

"...Yeah."

He gets up slowly from the chair; I follow suit. "You can sleep in my bed; I'll find someplace else," Ikeda says absently, heading for the door.

"What?" I blink. "I can't sleep in your bed!"

He stops and turns towards me, confused. "What? Why?"

"Where are you going to sleep?"

"Where are _you_ going to sleep, then?" he counters.

"I brought my sleeping bag." I point to it, settled right next to my overnight bag.

He raises an eyebrow at me. "...You're going to sleep in that sleeping bag."

"Yeah."

"On my floor."

"Yeah."

"For an entire _week_?"

"...Yeah." I stare blankly at him.

Ikeda gives me a deadpan look and points at the door. "Guest room. _Now_."

"But I-" I stop. There is no room in his expression for argument.

"...Fine," I say, giving in to his no-nonsense look. I pick up my overnight bag and head for the room down the hall.

-o0o-

The whispering only increases the next day at school, when Ikeda and I show up together.

"Oh my god, they're _staying_ together?"

"So this means they really _have_ done it, then...!"

"Oh my _god_!"

I swear, if this goes on much longer, I'm going to kill something. Out of anger or embarrassment, I'm not quite sure. Probably both.

Other than the talking behind our backs, though, it's not really all that bad. No fights or anything.

At least, not until lunchtime.

I'm walking down the hallway, minding my own business, when they converge on me. Three of them, all big and muscular and trying to look intimidating. It's not working.

"Hey, lookie who we got here," one of them says, the one with bleached blond hair. "It's Ikeda's bitch."

The words strike a nerve. "Piss off," I growl, glaring at him.

"Awww, did we hurt the poor bitch's feelings?" the second one drawls mockingly. His hair is long and red and extremely shaggy, making him look like one of those dogs with the hair that covers their eyes.

"I _said_, piss off, bastards!" I yell, clenching my shaking fists.

The third one, the one with a face like an ugly rat, sneers down at me. "It's only what he deserves. Poor thing, still not used to being about as straight as a circle?"

That's when I lose it. I lunge forward and swing a wild punch at Rat Boy, who dodges. Blondie catches my wrist before I have time to pull back. Thrashing against Blondie's iron grip, I attempt to swing another punch behind me at Shaggy, who's leaning in for the kill. I miss.

You know how on TV, the guys who get into fights are always really good? And make it look really easy? Hah. Yeah, right. I can't hit a single one of them. Nevermind the fact that, unlike these thugs, I have no real fighting experience; I'm in a rage. I can barely see anything for my anger.

That's when Blondie catches me in a punch to the gut.

I choke, stumbling backwards and landing on my ass on the floor. My schoolbag goes flying and lands on the ground next to me, scattering my papers and a bunch of other stuff, but I barely notice because of the pain and it _hurts_ and where the hell did these guys learn to punch like that? And I-

"Hey, what's this?" one of them (I think it's Rat Boy) drawls from above, apparently looking at something that fell out of my schoolbag. "A watch, eh? Looks expensive."

The cloud in my head clears, and I'm suddenly alert as a jolt of fear shoots through my stomach. "No-"

_CRUNCH!_ One heavy footstep later, and the watch is shattered. Rat Boy lifts up his foot, and I see the full damage done to it. Broken to bits and pieces. Beyond repair.

I feel sick. That was Dad's watch. He gave it to me as a gift just before he and Mom split up last year.

I lay there on the floor, in pain and in shock, staring at the shattered bits of the watch, and I try to say something to the thugs but they're already long gone, so I just lay there, and somewhere in there I dimly register Hayashi's and Ikeda's voices shouting, calling my name, and they hoist me up and try to take me away, muttering things about _what happened?_ and _you should see the nurse_. And the pain is fading a little now, but I know it's going to leave a bruise later, and I'm still staring at my dad's watch, and I think somewhere in there I manage to murmur something to them about it, because Ikeda's gathering all the little bits and pieces and slipping them into a side pocket in my bag.

The nurse bandages up the already-bruising wound. She disapproves of my starting a fight in school, but I explain the circumstances as best I can, and she lets up a little once she learns I was provoked.

It's only afterwards, once I'm alone with Hayashi and Ikeda in the nurse's office, that I take out the remnants of Dad's broken watch.

-o0o-

That night, in Ikeda's room, I'm still mourning the loss of the watch. I sit on his bed moodily, staring at the little pieces of it in my hand. They hardly even resemble a watch anymore.

"Do you think I could get it repaired?" I murmur.

Ikeda's next to me, on my left. He's sitting oddly close; his shoulder is only an inch or two away from mine. I suppose he wants to make sure I don't spazz out and do anything irrational; I've been known to lose it on more than one occasion, after all.

"...I don't think there's anything you can do, Arai," he says softly after a moment. "It's beyond repair."

"Mm," is my noncommittal reply. We're both silent for a bit.

"...Is it... important?" Ikeda ventures after a while. It sounds like he's nervous, like he's trying not to tread too hard on a touchy subject.

"...My dad gave it to me," I answer after a minute later. "Before he and Mom got divorced, I mean."

"I see." Ikeda's response is so quiet I almost don't hear it. A moment later, he has his arms around my shoulders in a sideways hug.

I lean into the embrace almost unconsciously. It feels good. I mean, I've had a really shitty day, and I could use someone trying to cheer me up, and Ikeda is hugging me and it feels nice and warm...

Wait.

_Ikeda is hugging me?_

I jump up suddenly, as though the bed is on fire. "I-I'm going to go... take a shower now," I stutter, managing to set the pieces of the watch down on the nearby side table before rushing out of the room. When I reach Ikeda's bathroom, I close the door behind me and lean against it, breathing heavily.

What the _hell_ was that?

-o0o-

The next few days at school are pure hell.

Not because of rumors or stupid thugs, though. No, this time I have a much more pressing matter on my hands. And that is... _I can't bloody stop thinking about Ikeda._

I mean, what the hell? I mean, sure, maybe I've noticed him a bit more than I typically notice other guys- and some girls, for that matter- but that doesn't _mean_ anything. He's my _friend_. But ever since the _stupid_ sign incident, the whole damn thing has been brought to my attention and now it's getting to the point where I can barely pay attention in _class_. Because I'm thinking about Ikeda. I mean, what the hell?

For a minute, I think about what's been bugging me for a few days- what if the rumors are true? What if I _am_ gay and I like Ikeda? Then I shake it off. That's stupid. Ikeda's my friend, and guys don't like other guys anyway. Guys like girls. Fact of life, I tell myself angrily.

So why the _hell_ can't I get him out of my head?

-o0o-

Two days after the watch incident, I mess up. Badly.

Ikeda's my lab partner in science, you see. Today, we're to be working on a long-term lab assignment in pairs.

As the teacher walks up to our table, it suddenly hits me that I completely forgot to do my half of the project. Shit.

Ikeda takes out his half and shows it to the teacher, consulting with him. As soon as he's done talking to Ikeda, the teacher turns to me expectantly. "Arai?" He raises one eyebrow.

"I, er," I stammer. I shrink back in my seat. "...I don't have it."

The teacher stares at me in disapproval. Ikeda stares at me in disbelief. The teacher says nothing, and walks away.

A while later, we're in the lab portion of the project. I'm just dropping one of the metal samples into the water, like the directions say, when-

"Arai, don't! That's sodium, not-"

The next thing I know, the entire beaker is on fire.

We get an F on the lab.

-o0o-

I nervously glance over at Ikeda after tennis practice that afternoon. He hasn't said a word to me since the incident in the lab.

"...Oi, Ikeda?" I'm not sure what I'm planning to say to him. Just something, _anything_ to break the tension. I can't stand it anymore.

But when he looks over at me with a "Hm?" and he has a blank, closed-off expression on his face, I freeze up. That face is not good. That's his I-may-not-look-it-but-I'm-actually-very-mad-at-you-right-now face. I know I'm the type to just plain lose it when I get angry. Ikeda, on the other hand, is the type who closes himself off and just lets his anger sit inside. I've been friends with him long enough to be able to tell. He's not happy right now.

And underneath that subtly angry expression is the hint of a veiled threat: _You are not welcome here_.

"I-it's nothing," I stutter. I need to get out of there. I hurriedly grab my bag and run out of the clubroom.

Instead of going to Ikeda's house, I run all the way home to my own.

I'm not going to be able to face him tonight.

-o0o-

At first, it's almost a thrill, being home alone. House to myself, no parents to tell me what to do, not even my sister is there. I'm completely free.

So I mess around a bit. I turn the stereo up loud, and sneak candy from the fridge, and goof off on the computer instead of doing my homework. It's awesome, really.

But then night falls, and I'm still the only one in the house. By now I'm bored, and I realize I have to make my own dinner if I want to eat. Crap. Instant ramen, anyone? On top of that- not that I'll ever admit this to anyone else- I'm also getting a bit creeped out, because I've _never_ spent the night alone before. The house is eerily quiet.

After eating my cup of ramen, I wander around the house a bit. My mom's room is a bit of a mess, as always. Her bed is unmade, soap bottles are all over the bathroom sink, and dirty clothes litter the bottom of her closet. Her room looks like a teenager's.

On the nightstand next to the bed is a brown plush bear. The stuffed toy, affectionately named Bear-Bear, belonged to my grandmother. Mom insisted on keeping it after her death. I guess it's like one of those mementos or something.

"So it looks like it's just you and me tonight, Bear-Bear," I say. Bear-Bear doesn't reply.

-o0o-

It's nearly ten when I decide I can't take it anymore. I grab my house key from the front counter and take off, hoping to wander around town a bit to clear my head. I end up sitting by the duck pond in the park nearby, staring moodily out at the reflection of the night sky on the water.

After what seems like a long time, I hear a rustling noise behind me, and someone sits down on the grass to my left.

"Hey there." It's Ikeda.

"...Hi," I mutter back.

There's a pause between us. "...So where have you been all evening?" he asks finally. As if _that's_ the big problem here.

"At my house," I answer. "Got bored."

A longer pause.

"...You're not still mad at me, are you?"

He smiles and shakes his head. "I've cooled down a bit now. It was just a school assignment."

"I mean, I didn't _mean_ to mess up like that," I continue, unable to stop. "It's just... I've had a really shitty week so far- I mean, with the sign, and the stupid rumors, and my dad's watch, and I keep getting distracted-" -_because I keep thinking about YOU-_ "-and I just... kinda really messed up." I let out a shaky breath.

Ikeda smiles comfortingly and leans forward, so that his shoulder is touching mine. "I guess that sometimes, it's the little things like that that make a difference, huh?" he says.

"Yeah," I mutter.

I turn my head to look at him. He's closer than he was before now. On some urge, I lean closer. He looks straight into my eyes and I look into his and we're just about to kiss when-

"Masaya! Arai-kun!"

Ikeda jerks back suddenly, looking out towards the street at the source of the interruption. "...My parents found us," he says. He gets up from the grass and offers his hand to me. Hesitantly, I take it, hoisting myself up.

I get the feeling I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight.

-o0o-

The next day, I can't stop thinking about what happened last night. If I thought that I couldn't get Ikeda out of my head before, it's nothing compared to right now. Now, it's all I can do just sit still in class, not even listening to a word the teacher says because I'm too busy thinking about Ikeda.

I can't deny it anymore. Maybe I could before, but after our almost-kiss last night, I realize that it's impossible to hide from my own feelings anymore. I like him. I like Ikeda. At this revelation I feel a bit anxious and nervous and weirded out, but despite that, I also feel as though my head is in the clouds. _I like him._

When we meet up at tennis practice the same afternoon I'm more nervous around him than I've ever been in my life. I'm trying to ignore his presence, and at the same time, sneak in little glances when I think nobody's looking my way. On our way home, it's all I can do not to stare at him as he walks slightly ahead of me. I'm a bit angry at myself for acting like some stupid schoolgirl, but I can't help it.

It isn't until later that night, when we've both converged in Ikeda's room, that I work up the courage to bring up what's been on my mind all day.

"Um... Ikeda..."

He looks over at me. "Hm?"

"I... you... I mean... last night... and I..." _God,_ can't I stop acting so _stupid_?

But Ikeda only smiles at me and places a finger to his lips, effectively shutting up my nonsensical rambling. He slips off the bed and walks over to where I'm standing, and before I have time to react, he's kissing me full on the lips. I'm startled at first, but then my eyes flutter closed as I start to kiss back. The kiss isn't perfect; in fact, it's rather awkward. Our noses bump together and both of us are rather sloppy and neither of us are very good at it, but I don't _care_ because I-

"Masaya! Dinner!"

Ikeda pulls back reluctantly, leaving me foggy-headed and breathless. "My parents," he says sheepishly. He heads for the door, but just before leaving, he turns around and, as an afterthought, adds, "Sometimes it's the little things like that, isn't it?" And then he's gone.

I stare at the empty doorway stupidly for a minute. Then, when I fully realize what just happened, I break out into an uncontrollable grin.

-o0o-

Two days later, my mom comes back home.

"I'm home!" she yells as the door slams behind her. My sister and I both give her hugs, and Kanako starts going on about how she had such a _great_ time at her friend's house, and how they had sleepovers every night, and other random things I'm not even catching because I've tuned her out at this point.

When my sister stops for breath, Mom turns to me and asks, "So how was _your_ week, Masashi?"

For some reason, as soon as she asks that, I can't help but smile.

"Great!"

-end-


End file.
